Switched Squads and Crushes
by Lion C. Simmonds
Summary: What if Naruto had a crush on Ino instead of Sakura? What if both of them were put on the same squad together? Both are put on Squad Eight as they go on missions.
1. Team Formation

**_Author's Note: Hello everyone it's Lion C. Simmonds, but you can call me Jeremy, or Lion. I'm making another Naruto story. Like my other Naruto fanfic, this thought crossed my mind too. I wonder what would happen if Naruto had a crush on Ino instead of Sakura and that both Naruto and Ino along with another person was put on a different team. At the same time, I'm going to shuffle up the Rookie 9 rosters. What will happen? Let's read and find out. I don't own anything._**

* * *

**Team Formation**

"From this day forward, you are all official Leaf Genin. As one of your academy teachers, I just want to let you all know how proud I am of you." Iruka admitted to the class with a smile on his face. "You've all done excellent in your studies and training. I believe with all my heart that this may be one of the finest classes the Leaf Village has ever produced, and I can't wait to see what extraordinary shinobi you all become!"

Nearly every student in the classroom smiled at their now-former sensei's words. Naruto was grinning more than anyone else, however.

_"Finally...I really am a ninja now! Finally!"_ He thought to himself excitedly.

"Now, I'm going to start reading off the team names! Pay attention carefully, because I will _not_ repeat!" Iruka informed everyone. "Now...Team One..."

Everyone tried hard to pay attention to Iruka's words. It proved too difficult, however, to listen to every name that was called. Everyone seemed to only notice when their name was called or when their friends were called.

"...now Squad Seven!" Iruka continued reading. "Sasuke Uchiha, Choji Akimichi, and Hinata Hyuga."

**(A/N: I regret putting Sasuke and Hinata on the same team. I honestly do.)**

"Squad Eight: Naruto Uzumaki, Ino Yamanaka, and Kiba Inuzuka." Iruka continued.

Naruto blushed at the sound of Ino's name, _"I'm on the same team as Ino? I can't believe it."_ he thought as he looked at Ino. _"She's so pretty with her gorgeous blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. I just got to talk to her."_

Ino however had different thoughts, _"Oh man! Not only am I not in the same group as Sasuke, but on the same squad as Naruto? My day just keep getting worse!"_ she whined in her thought.

"…and finally, Squad Ten: Sakura Haruno, Shino Aburame, and Shikamaru Nara."

Sakura banged her head on the table in depression, "No…I don't get to be on Sasuke's team? This isn't fair…"

Naruto was still staring at Ino, _"Maybe I oughta' introduce myself."_

"Alright, after lunch you are to report back here to meet with you new Sensai. I'm proud of all of you and good luck in the future."

**After lunch…**

Naruto was stomping the floor with his foot waiting for the Squad Eight's Sensai. He or She was 15 minutes late and it's really annoying Naruto.

"Where is our Sensai?! He's late," Naruto shouted.

"Naruto just calm down, I'm sure he probably got lost," Ino says.

Naruto calms down but then puts an eraser at the top of the barely closed door.

"Naruto what are you doing?"

"This is what he gets for being late on the job," Naruto says chuckling.

"What makes you think that is going to work," Kiba asks, "This is an élite Jonin we're talking about. He's not going to fall for that stupid trick." Akamaru barks in agreement.

That was when a black haired a fairly tall and light-skinned woman of slender builds walked through the door. She has long, black, shoulder-length untamed hair, and very unique eyes that are red in color, with an additional ring in them. She wears make-up consisting of red lipstick and purple eye shadow. Her regular outfit consists of a red mesh armor blouse with only the right sleeve visible. Over this is very broad material which resembles bandages with a pattern on it similar to those of rose thorns. Her hands and upper thighs are also wrapped in bandages and she wears the Leaf Village forehead protector and regular shinobi sandals. The eraser actually hit her on the head. Naruto laughed. Kiba and Akamaru were embarrassed. Ino giggled a bit.

"HaHaHa! I got her," Naruto shouted.

"Please forgive us Sensai. I tried to stop him but he didn't listen." Ino said trying to hide her laughter.

"My name is Kurenai and I must say that you've gotten me with that prank of yours." she said giggling a bit. "So you're my new student's then?" she asked.

They all nodded.

"Well in that case, follow me."

She led her Genin students to the top of a rooftop and leaned near the bars.

"Alright everyone, why don't you introduce yourselves before we go on," Kurenai says confusing everyone.

"Wait, what you want us to say," Ino asks.

"Well…you name first, your likes and dislikes, and your goals for the future. Something like that."

"Can't you introduce yourself first," Ino asks, "To show us how its' done?"

"Very well then…My name is Kurenai Yuuhi. My likes are drinking sake. My dislikes are men who think they are superior to women. And my goals for the future…well it's a secret. Now your turn."

Naruto then stands up to introduce himself.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. The things I like the most are ramen and spending time with my friends. What I hate in this world are jerks others people. My dream is to become the Greatest Hokage, that way everyone will look up to me, Believe it!" _"And to also win Ino's heart." he thought as he looked at Ino and blushed._

"Interesting," Kurenai says.

"My name is Ino Yamanaka. I like flowers and having friends. My dislikes are people who call me or my friends bad names. My dream is to win the love of a certain someone," Ino says thinking about Sasuke while blushing.

"Hmm…Nice."

"My name is Kiba Inuzuka. I like dogs and other animals. I hate cats and people who abuse dogs. My dream is to become the Greatest Hokage like Naruto."

"Oh really. The day you become a Hokage will be the day that I fly!" Naruto said.

"And the day that you become a Hokage will be the day a Fire Jutsu comes out of my butt and Akamaru kisses a cat!" Kiba argued.

Ino only sweat dropped, _"I'm with retards…"_ she thought.

"So Kurenai Sensai," Naruto says, "What's going to be our first mission?"

"Our first mission," Kurenai asks.

"Yeah our first mission! Tell us please!"

"Well, out first mission…is a Survival Exercise."

Kiba, Akamaru, Ino, and Naruto put confused looks on their faces.

"Wait! What do you mean by Survival Exercise," Ino asks.

"Yeah! We're official Shinobi Ninjas and we're supposed to go on missions and adventures," Naruto shouted in agreement, "Not exercise."

"So why are we taking this exercise," Kiba asks.

Kurenai started laughing at Kiba's questions.

"What's so important about taking the exercise Sensai," Ino asks.

"Well if I tell you, you won't like it," Kurenai told.

"Well, tell us anyway," Naruto says, "We can take it."

"Your funeral. Out of all the graduating students who were assigned to 22 different squads, only 9 squads are allowed to become Genin. Those who fail are sent back at the academy. And if I do my math right I'd say that you guys have a…66% chance of failing."

Kiba, Akamaru, Ino, and Naruto's mouths dropped to the floor and their entire bodies became so white in pale that ever their clothes were white.

"See…I told you that you wouldn't like it."

A tick mark appeared on Naruto's forehead.

"Now wait just a damn second," Naruto shouted, "Then what the hell was the point of being at the academy if we were going to be sent back?!

"The academy gives the candidates who will become Genin. Just pray that you guys are the lucky ones," Kurenai says as she stands up, "The Survival Test will begin at the training field at 4:00 a.m. Oh Yeah! Be sure not to eat any breakfast, otherwise you'll puke."

With that, Kurenai disappeared.

* * *

**_To Be Continued…_**

**_Author's Note: I hope that none of you are mad at me for making Naruto having a crush on Ino instead of Sakura. I just wonder how things would go if I change the rosters of the Squads plus Naruto having a crush on Ino. I hope that you enjoyed it and please review kindly._**

**_~Stay True~_**

**_Next Time: Squad Eight takes their Survival Test having them to try and knock down Kurenai. Will they succeed or will they be sent back to the academy._**


	2. The Survival Test: Naru-Ino-Kiba

**The Survival Test: Naru-Ino-Kiba**

When Naruto and the others got to the training ground, they saw Kurenai sitting on the same tree stump that she was sitting on yesterday. She looked at them with a serious look on her face.

"Good morning everyone," Kurenai said. "I have some important things that I need to go over, so I need you three to listen closely." When all three gave their sensei their undivided attention, Kurenai continued. "First off, the three of you are not shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village yet."

"What do you mean?" Naruto said in an angry outburst. "Are you telling me that we spent all that time in this academy for nothing? All three of us passed our exams, all of us. How can you tell us we aren't ninja?" Naruto finished in a huff. He was beside himself with anger. He couldn't stand that his friends and he weren't ninjas. Passing the exams was supposed to be their entrances to the world of shinobi, but that wasn't the case, apparently.

"Calm down, Naruto. The reason why is because only nine of the students from the academy are allowed to become a ninja. You must be tested to see how well you can work on missions. So, your final exam is to knock me on my back."

"That's it?" Kiba asked. "That doesn't seem bad."

"Yep, that's all you have to do. However, I'll not be going easy on any of you. You did pass the academy; you should be able to handle it. Also, I will only be teaching the person who knocks me over." All three of their mouths fell wide open. "Sorry, but I need to train those who have potential. I'll close my eyes and let you hide for ten seconds. Go," Kurenai said as she closed her eyes. Naruto, Ino, and Kiba looked at each other before finding places to hide in any direction.

After ten seconds, Kurenai opened her eyes to find herself pleasantly surprised. As she looked throughout the woods, she could find no trace of her "opponents" at all. She thought she would at least be able to locate Naruto (due to his bratty immaturity) or Kiba (due to his rationality), but they had concealed themselves excellently. _"I must say,"_ Kurenai thought to herself, _"these guys excel at hiding in the trees very well."_

Kurenai stood in the area for around ten minutes before she had to move the hair out of her face. As soon as she moved to her hand to her face, she heard light, but fast footsteps approaching. She smiled, ducked, and looked above as she saw a hand above her. She flashed an open grin as she looked into the shocked face of "Number One Hyperactive Ninja." Naruto placed both of his hands on the ground and did a front flip to land on his feet. He turned around to face Kurenai, who stood back up with a light smile on her face.

"Good job, Naruto," Kurenai said as she put her right hand on her hip. "You're fast and can be quiet as necessary. But, you are going to have to do better if you want to knock me down.

Naruto smiled and threw a punch right at his sensei. Kurenai reacted by grabbing the blonde boy's right wrist and then she noticed something. If she would have allowed Naruto's hit to connect, then the force could have made Kurenai stumble. _How in the world can a Genin have this much power?_ As this thought went through the Jōnin's mind, Naruto directed his other hand towards the "Crimsoned –Eyed Beauty's" chest. Kurenai grabbed the blonde boy's hand with her other free hand. When Naruto noticed that his sensei held her arms in an "X" formation, he smiled wildly.

"Believe it, sensei," he shouted as he dropped into a sitting position, causing Kurenai to stumble forward. As she stumbled, Naruto pulled back to bring his future sensei to be down. Kurenai let herself be pulled but she landed on her feet and brought Naruto into the air and flipped him over her head. When Naruto was about to become face and face to Kurenai, the Jōnin sent a kick right into the brash boy's stomach. Naruto flew in the air, all the way into the bushes and was no longer in sight.

As Kurenai saw the first ninja-in-training fly into the woods, she let of a big sigh. _"Wow that was a very impressive strategy to bring me down. If I wasn't paying attention, he would have passed my test with no problem. I'm going to have to pay more attention to him from now on."_ Before, she could completely catch her breath; she was knocked down by Kiba and Akamaru. At least, that was what Kiba thought, until the lady under him disappeared leaving only a log under him. Kiba eyes went wide as he got pulled into a tight headlock. Kiba grabbed the arm and tried to pull it away from his neck while Akamaru bit Kurenai's arm. Then he felt his sensei's face next to his. "Nice try, Kiba, Akamaru" Kurenai whispered in their ears. "I admit that you caught me off guard. If I had thought that Naruto was my only opponent, then you would have knocked me down to the ground. Try harder next time." She then let go of his neck and grabbed his hands. She then started to spin Kiba around, making Kiba dizzy. She let go of the Inuzuka, throwing him in the direction that she kicked Naruto.

She pushed the hair out of her face and looked up to the sky. She put her hand up to block the sun from her eyes. "They better hurry, time is almost up."

**In the forest…**

Naruto was very upset. He's not a person who takes failure very well. He was lost on how to take his sensei down. Whenever Naruto was met with a situation, he always found a way to accomplish his goal. No matter if it was completing a Jutsu or playing numerous pranks all around the village; Naruto always found a way to finish his goals. But now he had no idea how to take his sensei down. He had executed a strategy that he was sure would have done the trick, but he failed and got kicked in the stomach. He stood back up, only to get knocked down by a flying Kiba.

"Kiba, get off me," Naruto said irritated.

"Oh, sorry Naruto. Here," Kiba said as he got up and offered Naruto a hand.

Naruto took his hand. "Thanks." he got and crossed his arms and started to pace back and forth. "Man, this is impossible. There is no way to..." he trailed off as a light bulb appeared on his head. "Hey Ino!" he shouted.

"I'm right here!" Ino said as she jumped off a nearby tree.

Naruto hides the blush he had and went onto the subject, "Didn't you know that uh…what's it called…."

"The Mind Transfer Jutsu?" Ino asked.

"Yeah, that Jutsu. I just came up with an idea: If you can use the Mind Transfer Jutsu on Kurenai-Sensai, then Kiba and I can knock her down without any problems."

"Wow, that's not a bad idea Naruto." Kiba admitted with Akamaru barking in agreement.

"Alright, but before we start, maybe we should nickname our group." Ino suggested.

"Huh?" Naruto and Kiba said confused.

"I was thinking that since we are a team, we should think about having a team name." Ino said, "My dad told me that he took parts of his teammates name and made it into at team name. His team's name was called Ino-Shika-Cho."

"That sounds awesome," Naruto said. "We should do that with our team." They thought for a second, trying to think of ways to put their names together. "How about we go with Naru-Ino-Kiba?"

Ino nodded her head in agreement. Kiba gave him thumbs up. "Sure, I couldn't think of anything better,"

"Okay, from this moment, we are Team Naru-Ino-Kiba," Ino declared with excitement.

**With Kurenai…**

Kurenai looked back to the sky. The sun was almost directly above her. "Hmmm, three minutes left, she said to herself, "Those kids better hurry of they will all fail." As soon as she said that, she heard a group of feet coming towards her. She looked forward to see Kiba and Naruto barreling down at her in a frontal approach. As soon as they reached her, Naruto and Kiba threw consecutive punches. The barrage of attacks caused Kurenai to shield herself. Putting her arms in front of her, she tried to assess the situation. "_This makes no sense. They both tried to take me down in non-direct, thoroughly thought out methods earlier. Now, they're just striking at me with a frontal assault. Why?"_ As Kurenai pondered this, she noticed that the ninja hopefuls' attacks were finally getting to her. She notice that Naruto's attacks were covering the front and left while Kiba's attacks were covering the front and right, allowing her to only move backward. "_This isn't good. If they keep this up, they might get me to trip over. I didn't want to do this, but I'm going to have to use Genjutsu to stop them."_ At once, Kurenai pushed her arms forward, causing both Naruto and Kiba to fall back. She took a step back and ... "Umph." As Kurenai tried to turn around, she couldn't move. She then realized that Ino had performed a Mind Transfer Jutsu on her and Naruto and Kiba took this chance to knock her down.

Kurenai looked to the sky and noticed that the sun was directly over her. "_Just in time_," she smiled as she sat up. As she rose, she looked at Ino who just got out of her unconscious state. She took it to face the children that she had just faced. "Good job to all of you. Unfortunately, I will only train Naruto and Kiba since they..."

"No," Naruto interrupted with great voice. He looked at his sensei with determined. When Kurenai gave Naruto a confused look, the blond boy's face fell and he started to look at the ground and fidget with his fingers. "I mean, I won't be able to train with you."

"Why not, Naruto? You and Kiba earned the right to train with me. Why won't you take it?"

"Because we are a team," Naruto answered, gesturing to Ino and Kiba. "We graduated together and we're put on the same team. They're my friends and I won't train without them."

"That's very noble of you. But how do you know that your friends wouldn't have done the same thing?"

"Because we're friends," Ino stood in front of Naruto. "We stand together no matter what. If it was me who knocked you down, I would gladly go back to the academy with Naruto and Kiba. Like I said before, we are Team Naru-Ino-Kiba."

"Believe it!" Naruto shouted.

Kurenai looked at Kiba and he nodded to her. She looked at all of them with no emotion on her face. "Well, since you guys are so close together there is only one thing to say." Kurenai then smiled at her students. "You all pass. You are now officially ninjas of the Hidden Leaf Village and my students. Congratulations."

* * *

**_To Be Continued…_**

**_Author's Note: Yay! They all passed and I'm excited for this story and I hope you enjoyed it so please review._**

**_~Stay True~_**

**_Next Time: After a few D-ranked missions, Naruto becomes angry at the fact that he hasn't gotten a chance to prove himself as a Shinobi. The Third Hokage decided to give Squad Eight a low C-ranked mission that takes them to the Land of Waves._**


	3. First C-Ranked Mission

**_Author's Note: Sorry about the Ino/Hinata errors in chapter 1 and 2. I started this story after recently taking a break from a Hinata based story and I've typed Hinata's name so many times that I can type it backwards at the same speed as forwards. Anyways, enjoy this next chapter and thank you for pointing out my mistakes. Having people see my mistakes makes me a better writer! :D_**

* * *

**First C-Ranked Mission**

"Ino…. Do you see that target?" Kurenai asked in the headset.

She and her team were scattered throughout the forest, stalking the elusive feline. Ino was scanning the surrounding area.

"Yes…. Around 20 yards east of Naruto and Kiba." She answered back. "Did you hear that, you two?" Kiba, Akamaru, and Naruto were stationed atop a large tree, 20 yards away from Tora.

"Yeah, we see it." Kiba replied. "Akamaru, Naruto and I are going in now. You and Kurenai-Sensei round back. So if she rabbits, you two can catch her."

Tora was a tan house cat, with a white stomach. She was licking her paw when the two shinobi dive-bombed from the tree.

"Come here, you fuzz ball!" Naruto cried.

But the cat's responsive reflexes were great, and moved the second she heard Naruto's voice. She pounced forward and dashed into the forest. The three landed on the ground, and started to pursue after her.

"Kiba, Akamaru and I are after Tora." Naruto said, as he passed Kiba and Akamaru and closed in on the frisky cat.

But right before he got close enough to catch her, Tora stopped on a dime and turned left. Not even Naruto's reflexes were that good, and ended up running past where the cat was heading.

"Lost her."

Then the sound of feet landing on the ground behind the bushes was heard. Oddly enough, it was the same bushes that Tora ran into.

"Not me, Naruto." Ino's voice was heard on the headset.

He turned, and saw Kurenai and Ino walking out from the bushes, with the cat purring in Ino's arms.

"Thanks for sending her my way…. She's a cutie."

"Just like you…" Naruto said.

"What was that?" Ino asked.

"Oh! Uh…nothing." Naruto said blushing.

Kurenai, Kiba and Akamaru laughed when Naruto went crimson red in the face and looked away in embarrassment.

"Good job, you three." Kurenai said approvingly. "You all seem to be passable when it comes to working as a team. Normally, there would be a contest to see who would be the best Genin. I'm glad that's not the case here."

Kiba smirked and said, "That's because me and Akamaru are aware of the fact that if we were doing that, we'd have to compete with Ino, and face it, she can be scarier than a mountain-destroying giant when she wants to be."

Ino shot him a cocky grin and a thumbs up, "Hell yeah I can. And don't forget it, you two!"

Kurenai was always proud of her Genin students. They were so lively and are not afraid to work hard.

"OK, you three. We should go ahead and bring this pain in the neck back to the Hokage tower." Kurenai suggested.

The students agreed, and made their way back into the village, with Ino scratching Tora behind the ears.

**At the Hokage Tower…**

"TORA!" The Fire Lord's wife cried when Squad Eight entered the office.

She was a hefty woman, decorated with expensive jewelry and elegant dressed.

"Mommy thought she lost you again!"

The woman reached out and snatched the cat from Ino's arms. Then started hugging and smothering the cat with affection. Tora seemed to be miserable what that was happening, and left the entire team thinking the same thing.

_"Poor thing. No wonder she ran off…."_ Ino thought to herself.

"You're welcome." Kurenai said to the Lord's wife.

The woman bowed, and left the room, practically suffocating the feline. Sarutobi felt the same for the poor pet, and silently wished him good luck.

"Well, you seem to be pretty good at this." The old man chuckled, "That wasn't even more than an hour and a half. Well done. You've completed about six D-ranked missions."

"So Lord Hokage, what's our next mission going to be," Kurenai asks.

The old man then reached into his desk and took out a list of available missions.

The three Genin groaned aloud at the mention of the word "Mission". To them, these weren't missions of any kind. They were chores, if anything else. But right now, all they did was groan as the old man happily shuffled through his mission list.

"Hmm….. Let's see here…." He mumbled aloud to himself. "The Yamanaka family needs some help with their flower shop," Sarutobi started naming off odd jobs that needed to be done around the village, "Some dogs need to be walked at the Inuzuka estate…. Some litter needs to be picked up near the Hokage monument…"

As the list went on, Naruto found himself grinding his teeth at the mission….until finally, he made himself and his opinions known.

"No more stupid D-ranked missions!" His shrill voice pierced the ears of all who was in the room.

Ino was about to bonk her loud friend on the head for disrespecting the Third Hokage, but Naruto's booming voice was too loud to overcome.

"We deserve a real assignment that a ninja would call a "Mission"! Walking people's dogs and picking up trash is NOT a mission for a ninja team. It's torture! We worked hard at the academy learning different types of Justus! But what good will they be if we never get an assignment that would require the use of Justus?!" Ino, Kiba, Akamaru and Kurenai stared in disbelief at the blonde boy as his rant continued. "We're more than ready for a C-ranked mission."

Ino and Kiba were frantically looking at Naruto, then to Sarutobi, and back again. And after witnessing the boy's protest, the old man couldn't help but chuckle. Without saying a word, Sarutobi turned away from Squad Eight, and started rummaging through another filing cabinet. Kurenai sent Naruto a stern look, which had little effect. The blonde boy simply grinned triumphantly, and stared at Sarutobi as he pulled out a large file.

"Here we go…." Sarutobi sighed, leaning back in his chair and opening up the file. "There's a bridge builder who is in need of a ninja team to escort him back to his homeland, The Land of Waves. It's a low C-ranked mission…" He glances at Naruto. "But I would guess that would be alright with a certain knucklehead ninja out there who are itching for more. But this is up to your entire team, Kurenai…." The old man continued, getting everybody's attention again. "If you and all of your students agree to go, then your team can go. What do you two think?" The question was aimed at Kiba, Akamaru and Ino.

Kiba smirked and said, "That's fine with me, I've been itching for a real challenge." Akamaru barked in agreement.

"That's okay with me too, I guess" Ino agreed.

But soon, all three students were staring directly at their sensei. All three thought they were ready for a C-ranked mission, but if Kurenai didn't think so, then they couldn't go. The Jonin cleared her throat, and took a seat at Sarutobi's desk. "Personally, I'm not too thrilled at the idea of a Genin team one month out of the academy taking on a C-ranked mission…" Naruto's face fell, Kiba was neutral, and Ino looked at Naruto, then back at Kurenai. "But…." Hearing what Kurenai sighed caused Naruto's head to spike up again. "They have shown me excellent teamwork in their missions, and have done well in their training. I suppose that they could handle a C-ranked mission….for now."

"HELL YEAH!" Naruto cried, "We're finally getting an ACTUAL mission! No more babysitting! No more trash collecting! No more dish washing! No more CHORES!"

"So…." The man said in slurred words, most likely caused by the alcohol. "This is my  
shinobi team, huh? A bunch of brats, straight out of diapers, and a woman?" The arrogant make grunted, and took another swig of sake. Kurenai frowned at the "Woman" comment, just as Naruto frowned at the "Brat" comment directed at him, Ino and Kiba.

Sarutobi sighed, "Kurenai, this is Tazuna, from the Land of Waves. He's in charge of completing the bridge connecting his land to the surrounding lands." Tazuna grunted, as he leaned against the wall and continued to drink his sake. "You can start your mission as soon as you all are ready." Kurenai looked at her team, then to Tazuna.

"If he doesn't have anything that needs done here…. We could leave immediately." Kurenai then walked right in front of Tazuna, and swiped the empty bottle from his hands. "Well, Tazuna? Do you have further business that needs to be finished here?"

The old man grumbled something underneath his breath, and then answered in a low tone. "No…. we can leave now."

Naruto was ecstatic. "YEAH! Land of Waves, here comes Squad Eight, of the Hidden Leaf Village!"

* * *

**_To Be Continued…_**

**_Author's Note: I hope that you enjoyed that chapter and again. Sorry for the errors in the last chapters. If you can, please review, until next time._**

**_Next Time: As the group travel to the Land of Waves, a high level Chūnin Ninja attacks._**


	4. An Assassin from the Mist Village

**An Assassin from the Mist Village**

It continued to rain as the team left the Hidden Leaf Village. Dark gray clouds rolled in and lightning stretched across the sky. The wind began to pick up, blowing leaves off from trees as Kurenai's team led Tazuna down a dirt path. It was uncomfortable conditions…. Only one good thing came out of the harsh weather. The rain that smacked against Tazuna's face snapped him out of his drunken daze. Now he was suffering, just like the rest of the team.

"Damn it! What's with this weather?" Kurenai growled to herself, pulling her hood in front of her face. Even though Kurenai was the leader, she wasn't leading the team. At point was Naruto. Kurenai followed right after. Behind her, Kiba, and Ino walked on either side of Tazuna. "You guys alright?" Kurenai asked her students and Tazuna.

"The weather's just peachy…" The Ino groaned sarcastically. "Seriously, I know weather can be unpredictable, but this is ridiculous!"

Kurenai smirked, and turned back to her boys as the Yamanaka went off on an angry rant.

"And you two?" Kiba looked up at his sensei, and gave her a half-ass smile. And she didn't blame her student for his expression. Cold rain and freezing winds isn't a good sign for being on your first mission. But to Kurenai, it was simply bad weather. Kiba may have disliked the conditions, but he decided to fake a smile and gave her a false thumbs up.

"Just great, Kurenai-sensei." Kiba said. The rain that was soaking into his clothes was beginning to freeze. His arms were cradling his chest as his entire body trembled while Akamaru cuddled in his jacket.

_"Damn it all…"_ Kurenai thought grimly. _"This first C-ranked mission is turning more into a punishment with every passing hour! Nearly 12 hours of continuous marching through this hellish weather. I'm surprised one of them hasn't asked to stop….And that I haven't decided to stop."_

Kurenai then began to look around, looking for suitable camping areas. The team continued to march for five minutes until they came across a large patch of thick trees. There were a few taller trees before them, blocking most of the wind for them. So there were a large percentage of their leaves still attached.

"OK team, it's time to make camp." A sigh of relief escaped everyone's lips. Naruto and Kiba immediately broke off the trail, and plopped themselves underneath the tree. Tazuna followed closely behind, with Ino and Kurenai bringing up the rear. Once everybody was underneath the trees, Kurenai cleared her throat. "OK…. We'll camp here for tonight. We can only hope the weather will be better tomorrow. But first things first, we'll need to pitch some tents and get some food. Naruto, Tazuna and Kiba…." All three looked up. "You three can start pitching tents. I'll start gathering some wood that isn't waterlogged. And Ino, you can gather some meat once I set up the fire."

No one objected to the chores given to them. Naruto, Kiba and Tazuna began to take the tents out of their bags. Kurenai went into the woods for firewood. And Ino prepared meat supply.

**With Kurenai…**

Kurenai walked lazily through the forest floor, looking for dry pieces of wood. Her mind was wandering back and forth from her team, to them mission, to the weather, and back again. So many things made the woman feel tense, never in her life had the weather change so dramatically: Sunny one day, then dark clouds, lightning and rain the next. "Let it go, Kurenai!" She growled to herself, shaking her head. "It's just rain. Nothing more." But the stories of ninja team going off on conditions just like this still lingered in her head.

She then saw a reasonably dry tree branch lying on the ground, underneath a tree. It wasn't much, but it would do. She couldn't afford to let pieces of wood go to waste. So she reached down, grabbed the tree branch, and slid it up her sleeve. Lightning continued to snap across the dark gray clouds. "I just hope the weather is better tomorrow…." She groaned, picking up another branch up. About 15 minutes later, Kurenai gathered up a reasonable amount of firewood. "Better get back to the others. The tents must be pitched. And Ino must be ready with the meat."

Still tired from the travel that day, the Jonin still kept her slow pace in returning to the camp. When she stumbled into camp, she was again, pleasantly surprised by what she saw. Naruto, Tazuna and Kiba were just now finishing up the tents. And as if on cue, Ino was with the meat, carrying six packs of raw meat in her arms.

"Who's hungry?!" Ino called out happily. The three boys turned, and had mix expressions at the girl. Naruto, as anyone could've guessed, blushed and turned away from her. Kiba started to drool, and rubbed his hands together…AT THE FOOD, NOT HER! Tazuna merely raised an eyebrow at how this Yamanaka, a girl, no less, acted.

"That a girl…" Kurenai chuckled to herself, rejoining the others. "You all did well. The tents are all pitched, and we have dinner, courtesy of Ino." Said kunoichi smiled broadly, and gave her a thumbs up. Kurenai stacked the firewood in the middle of a pit, and performed a quick set of hand signs. "Fire Style." A small fireball shot out of her mouth, and set the pile of branches ablaze. Turning to Ino and the others, she noticed that all were shivering, except for Naruto. _"Lucky brat…. That damn fox must make his body warmer than a normal body is."_ "While I watch over our food, why don't you four go and change out of those drenched things. Don't want to get hypothermia during the night, do we?"

There were three tents set up. One for Naruto and Kiba. One for Tazuna, and one for Ino and Kurenai. Kiba, Ino and Tazuna retreated to their assigned tents, while Naruto stayed to help. "I'll help you watch our food, Kurenai-sensei." The Jinchuuriki volunteered. He removed his black trench coat, leaving only his fishnet shirt. He then folded his coat, and laid it closely to the fire to dry.

"Thanks, Naruto." Kurenai said, with a warm smile on her face. "Aren't you cold?" She asked. The boy locked gazes with his sensei and looked down.

"Umm…No, not really, Kurenai-sensei." He began in a low voice. "I do feel a little cold, but not dangerously cold." He looked around, making sure his teammates or Tazuna weren't around. "I think it's the Nine-Tailed Fox…" He whispered, in almost a hissing whisper. Kurenai smirked.

_"Looks like that damned fur ball is useful for something, huh?"_ The Jonin let out an awkward chuckle when Naruto's sad expression didn't change. "Don't worry, Naruto." Kurenai sighed, "The others won't find out. The worst case scenario, they'll think you were just weird." This time, Kurenai couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh when Naruto looked as if he was going to panic. "Calm down…They didn't even notice." The rain seemed to be lightening, and the wind began to settle down. Kurenai decided to change subjects, "So, what do you think about Ino?"

Naruto then started blushing as he laughs weakly, "Ino is the prettiest girl I've met. Her blonde hair is gorgeous and those blue eyes are just as beautiful as mine." Fires of hatred appeared in Naruto's eyes, "But then there's Sasuke. He does everything right and worse of all, Ino has a crush on him! I'm going to train hard to beat Sasuke and win Ino's love!"

Naruto was about to continue the conversation, when the others came out, wearing a change of clothes.

"Ohhhhh…. Much better!" Ino sighed in delight, and sat next to Naruto. She was now wearing a black tank top, with a long sleeved fishnet shirt underneath. She was still wearing her damp pants, so she sat close to both Naruto and the fire (Wink, wink). She turned and looked at the boy to her side. Naruto's face went deep red at the sight of Ino's echem…breasts through her fishnet shirt. He turned, so that Ino couldn't see his face. _"Oh my God! Look at her!"_ he screamed in his head, fanning himself with his hand, _"I feel like if I look at her, her beauty will turn me to stone."_

Kurenai giggled as she witnessed her loud, abrupt student reduced to a nervous, love-struck boy. _"Hehe…. Look at him. Loud one second, blushing and giddy the next. Just like Anko acted when Kakashi gets too close."_ After all the meat cooked, Kurenai pulled out a kunai, and six extra sticks. She then began to slice all the bark off of them, leaving the tree branches smooth.

As Kurenai prepared the meat for cooking, Naruto looked at his other teammate. Kiba was now wearing a short sleeved black shirt, with baggy dark green cargo pants. Tazuna was basically wearing the same things, minus the large straw hat. "Fire Style: Blaze!" Naruto turned, and saw Kurenai breathe a decent amount of fire at the meat in the pit. Kiba sniffed the air, and immediately began to drool.

"Mmmmm! That smells awesome, Kurenai-sensei!" He wiped the saliva off his chin and tried to control Akamaru before he could jump the gun, as he sat down on the other side of Naruto. Tazuna sat against a tree and kept to himself. Kurenai smiled and pulled out a stick. The meat was brown, and sizzling. But she didn't give it to Kiba. She thrust the stick into the ground, to allow it to cool off. Kiba's head slumped down, depressed. "Man…." His sensei heard his groan, and she turned towards him with a cocky grin.

"Sorry, Kiba…If you want to burn your mouth, and permanently lose your sense of taste, you're more than welcome to come and do so."

Kiba chuckled, a little embarrassed now. "Sorry, Kurenai-sensei…"

The woman nodded her head, and reached out, got another piece of meat out of the fire, and did the same thing. The smell was overpowering. Kurenai, before roasting them, sprinkled some herbs she found while collecting firewood.

After the meat cooled off, the Jonin handed Naruto two meats. At first, he was confused, and then he locked eyes with his sensei. Kurenai grinned, and darted her eyes to someone behind him. Naruto turned, and figured out that she was darting at Ino, who had a bewildered look on her face. She seemed as if she was in a daze, staring into space. Naruto blushed again, and sat right next to her. "I…Ino?"

The sound of Naruto's voice snapped Ino out of her daze. She shook herself, and noticed that Naruto was sitting next to her. "Oh! Thank you, Naruto." Ino snatched the warm meat kabob from his hands, and nodded respectably. Seeing this, Kurenai giggled as she handed Kiba and Tazuna their meals.

Kiba accepted the meat kabob with a bow, and both he and Akamaru took a good sized bite out of it. His eyes popped open, as if he hadn't had food in a long while. "Wow! This is delicious, Kurenai-sensei!" He cried as Akamaru barked in excitement, receiving a chuckle from his teammates and sensei. "Those herbs you put on it really added some flavor. Thanks!"

Kiba, Naruto, Ino, and Kurenai chatted, but the whole time, their guest was silent. Tazuna simply munched down on his food, and kept to himself. Finally, Kiba decided to try to break the ice.

"So, Tazuna…" He groaned, as he got up to his feet. "You've been really quiet ever since this mission began. Is there some…"

"KIBA! GET DOWN!" Ino cried. With lightning fast speed, the kunoichi managed to jump to her feet, and tackled Kiba to the ground. But not even a quarter of a second later, a barrage of Shuriken embedded themselves in the tree that was behind Kiba.

"SCATTER!" Kurenai ordered, without missing a beat. She dashed towards Tazuna, grabbed him, and leapt into the trees, along with her students. Naruto was startled, and instinctively followed directly behind and Kiba Kurenai. Ino on the other hand actually scattered from the group. Like Naruto, she was startled by the attack, and ran in different directions.

Kurenai, Kiba, Tazuna and Naruto leapt from tree to tree with lightning speed. "We need to get to an open area!" Kurenai growled as she landed behind a tree to catch her breath. "The enemy won't be able to hide if we're in a clearing." Naruto was winded from the sudden burst of energy he was forced to use. He bent over, bent his legs, and propped himself up with his hands to take large gasps of air. Sweat mixed with rain, and his adrenaline was going haywire. But after a few deep breaths, Naruto glanced around realized something.

"Kurenai-sensei! Kiba! Ino is still back there!" It was true. The ambush had caused the team to disperse. Kurenai bit her bottom lip in anger. Since it was HER who told them to "SCATTER" and not to follow her.

"Damn…" Kurenai thought bitterly, looking around franticly. 'This is bad!' "Naruto! Kiba! You take Tazuna and head into the forest. After a mile or two, hide somewhere and don't come out until I say so! I'll go and get Ino!"

Suddenly, Ino's faint scream was heard in the distance. "No…" Kurenai, Naruto, Kiba, and Tazuna breathed in unison. "NARUTO! KIBA! RUN!" Kurenai barked, charging in the direction of the screams. A red chakra aura surrounded Naruto.

"If anyone hurts Ino when I get there…I'll make him pay dearly!"

"Naruto…" Kiba said as Akamaru hid himself while shivering in fear.

"Stay out of my way Kiba, please!" Naruto had a look of pure rage on her face as her voice became deeper and became demonic, **"They'll see what it means to stare death in the face!"**

Naruto disappeared in an instant leaving Kiba confused. Remembering what Kurenai ordered him, the boy led Tazuna deeper into the forest. Tazuna kept looking down, not wanting to make eye contact. _"This is all my fault…"_

**With Kurenai…**

The Jonin dashed through the trees with impressive speeds, with a kunai in each hand.

"Please be OK, Ino…"

Kurenai leapt from a large tree, and landed in the spot which they were attacked. The normally calm Jonin was circling around franticly, listening for any other sound from her Yamanaka student. Seconds seemed like minutes, as the Shinobi heard no more signs of life around.

"Well, Well…Look at what we have here. Another toy."

The unfamiliar voice caused Kurenai to rotate around in the blink of an eye. Atop a large tree branch stood a man who held an unconscious Ino. He's from the village hidden in the mist. The man wore a black cloak, draping down to his knees. Underneath that, he wore bandages from his hips up to his neck. On his left hand, there was a large steel glove, with sharpened claws on his fingers. On his face was a gas mask of some sort, and a hidden mist headband.

"Looks like we have ourselves a Jonin here!" the man chuckled, pressing his poison soaked claws against the unconscious Ino's neck. "It sure would be a shame to see your pretty student get killed, wouldn't it?" he laughed maniacally, "Look at her pretty face. But if a Yamanaka was taken down that easily, then what good would she be if she was a ninja? Maybe I should kill her."

Kurenai eyes widened. "What is a ninja like you from the Village Hidden in the Mist doing in Hidden Leaf territory?!" she shouted heatedly. "What business do you have here, and what possessed you to attack my team?!"

The man, wanting to have a little more fun, rested the razor sharp points of his claws on Ino's windpipe. "You are in no position to be demanding answers, Shinobi. I have one your precious students, and control whether she lives or dies. So I would be sure to shut up if I were you."

Kurenai grinded her teeth, seeing that the sadistic man was using one of her students as a human shield made her angry.

"But don't worry. If you be a good Sensei, I MIGHT kill you and your student quickly and painlessly. Now, why don't you…"

The man was then hit hard in the face by a powerful kick delivered by Naruto. Naruto quickly grabbed Ino when the man lost his grip on her. He quickly ran to Kurenai's side, though Kurenai was grateful that Ino was safe, she couldn't help but scold Naruto. "What are you doing here Naruto?! I told you to protect the bridge builder! Why did you disobey my orders?"

Naruto didn't answer though.

"Naruto Uzumaki! Answer me! Why aren't you protecting the-"

**"Shut up human!"** Naruto's demonic voice sounded startling Kurenai.

Naruto turned around to face her. Kurenai had a look of horror on her face. Naruto was different; a red chakra aura surrounded him. His whisker lines were thicker and his eyes were blood red with what looks like canine pupils.

_"W-What is this."_ Kurenai thought with fear. _"I-Is this the Nine-Tails?"_

"YOU LOUSY BRAT!" The man shouted.

Before Kurenai could do anything, a long chain, made of shuriken came hurling in her direction. Luckily, even with Ino carried in her arms, Kurenai managed to dodge the razor-sharp chain.

"Where is the bridge builder?!" the man demanded, while he retracts his chain. But Naruto grabbed the chain and gave the man a leering look.

"Why you…let go!" The man tried to pull the chain back but it was like pulling a wall. Naruto then pulled the man towards him and prepared to attack.

**"No…You buzz off insect!"** Naruto shouted punching the man straight in the face.

The man flew straight at a tree knocking it down.

"You little twerp! You'll pay for that!"

The man was charged directly at Naruto, with his poison soaked claws aimed at him. Naruto disappeared causing the man to hit the ground instead. Naruto reappears in front of him and punched him in the stomach and made him cough blood.

"Wh…what a…are y…you….?" The man asked.

**"Your worst nightmare, you pathetic human!"**

Naruto grabbed the man's head and smashed it on the ground creating a crater and knocking him unconscious.

**"You better be grateful that this boy is so kind-hearted. Otherwise, I would have killed you slowly."** Naruto demonic voice ringed. He turned to the shocked Kurenai and smirked.

Naruto's thick whiskers became thin and canine eyes disappeared and he lost consciousness. It took Kurenai a few minutes to even say a word.

"Did I really just see that just now," she thought, "Yes I did! I'm not under a Genjutsu. I wasn't dreaming at all. I'll have to report that man to the Leaf Village Police, and then get Naruto and Ino back with the others."

Kurenai quickly picked up the unconscious Naruto and swiftly left with both him and Ino in her arms returning to Kiba and Tazuna. But she couldn't help but wonder, _"Is it possible that the seal is breaking? And here I thought that the Nine-Tails was sealed for good. But now, it's slowly coming back."_

* * *

**_To Be Continued…_**

**_Author's Note: Okay…I've even read this chapter myself before posting it so there should be little to no errors. I hope that you enjoyed it._**

**_~Stay True~_**

**_Next Time: Naruto wakes up wondering what happened as Kurenai lied saying that he was knocked unconscious. Tazuna explains what is happening in his land until a powerful assassin appears._**


	5. Zabuza Momochi: The Demon in the Mist

**Zabuza Momochi: The Demon in the Mist**

Naruto awoke with his head arching. He lied in his tent, rubbing temples to get his skull splitting headache to go away. "Wh…what happened?" He asked out loud, weakly. No answer. Then he remembered what was happening last night, and his eyes snapped open. "KURENAI-SENSEI!" He jolted up into a sitting position, reaching for his kunai holster. But to his shock, both his kunai and shuriken holster was not attached to his thighs. He was about to panic, when Kurenai entered the tent.

"Don't worry, Naruto." Her voice was somewhat soothing to Naruto. "That Rouge Ninja is by now being turned into the Leaf Village Police force. He knocked you, Kiba and Tazuna out after I left you to go find Ino." Remembering his teammate/crush, he tried to get up. "Ino's alright, Naruto. I managed to rescue her before the rouge ninja could do anything." Relieved, Naruto fell back into a lying position. "Now sleep. You put up a good fight when that man ambushed you, Kiba, and Tazuna, so you must still be tired." Naruto raised an eyebrow when he was told this. He didn't remember fighting back. "You might not remember, but you actually managed to fight them off when they went after you and Tazuna." Kurenai lied. "I'll tell you more later; meanwhile, I should go check on Ino."

The Jonin left the tent, where only Tazuna was awake. Kurenai thought that her other two unconscious students should share her tent, just in case Naruto went into another "Nine-Tails Episode". But she was far more focused on what the rouge ninja shouted the night before.

"_Where is the bridge builder?!"_

To Kurenai, that brought into question to what the _true _mission was about. Tazuna was leaning against a tree, when Kurenai came up, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him against the tree. "OK, you damn drunk…." Venom dripped off her every word. "What are you really up to? One of the Oni Brothers demanded where **_YOU _**were. So that means that you're more important than what you say. Spill it." Her glare would've been frightening to even to the Nine-Tailed Fox itself. The bridge builder looked down in remorse, and spilled.

"My country is very poor. I couldn't afford a higher ranked mission, so I made it a low level escort mission." Since he wasn't answering Kurenai's question fast enough, Kurenai reached into her holster, pulled out a kunai, and imbedded it in the tree, a few millimeters from Tazuna's face…. So he answered the actual question.

"I'm wanted by a very dangerous man, who will stop at nothing to kill me. I'm responsible of completing the bridge connecting the Land of Waves to our neighboring country. If I don't complete the bridge, my country will eventually die!"

"SO YOU HAVE A GENNIN SQUAD GO UP AGAINST HIGH LEVEL CHUNNINS?!" Kurenai couldn't control her anger anymore. She threw the bridge builder to then ground in rage. "I almost lost one of my students last night, you old drunk! This was supposed to be a low C-ranked mission! Not an A-ranked one! Do you know how much danger my Squad is in, just by being AROUND you?!" The fuming woman was rapidly losing the control keeping her from killing the man right there on the spot. So she back off, and leaned against a tree, massaging her temples. "We're heading back to The Leaf Village immediately after my Squad is awake. This mission is too dangerous for….."

"No, Kurenai-sensei…" Hearing Ino's voice, Kurenai turned to see her kunoichi standing directly behind her. "We should complete this mission."

Kurenai and Tazuna looked at Ino with mixed expressions. Kurenai raised an eyebrow, and placed her hands on her hips. Tazuna's mouth hung open and stared in disbelief at the young kunoichi. "We have to complete this mission, Kurenai-sensei." The girl repeated, sounding very stern and determined. "We were assigned to deliver Tazuna to The Land of Waves, and that is exactly what we are going to do." Her sensei shook her head and let out a tired sigh.

"Ino, you can't be serious..." Ino frowned at how her sensei as she groaned her response. "This started off as a low level C-ranked mission. There was a lot of consideration just for that. What makes you think I would allow my Genin Squad to proceed on a B or A-ranked mission?" Ino rolled her eyes, and leaned against a tree. "This is a serious matter, Ino. Assassins of higher ranking will be attacking us if we continue with this mission. And I'm not prepared to risk my Squad's safety and well being so quickly."

"Come on, sensei. We can handle this." The girl reassured in a pleading tone. "The only reason that caught me was because he caught me off guard. Now that we know we are being targeted, we can be more prepared." The Jonin sighed as her student started making a list of what she and her teammates would do. "I could keep my use my Sensory ability more often. Naruto could send some of his clones ahead to scout out the area ahead of us. Come on, Kurenai-sensei. We can do this."

Kurenai massaged her temples in annoyance. What her student was asking her to allow mere Genins to take on a mission meant for high leveled rouge ninja. They barely could handle one Chūnin level ninja. So what would promote Ino to think that the Squad could handle more than that? But when Kurenai was about to refuse her again, another voice interrupted her response.

"I agree, Kurenai-sensei." Everyone turned to see both Naruto and Kiba walking towards them. "I'm very positive we should continue on with the mission."

Kurenai and Tazuna stared in disbelief at what they were hearing. Naruto is backing Ino up in going on an A-ranked mission. "Yeah Kurenai-sensei…" Kiba rudely agreed along with Akamaru. "Now that we know how dangerous this damn mission is, we can be ready."

The Jonin let out a big puff of air, and leaned against a tree to think. She thought about the predicament they were in, and looked at their skills. Ino had the Mind Transfer Jutsu and she's a Sensory type. That in itself was a good advantage. She was passable in shuriken and kunai throwing. While she didn't have perfect aim like Gai's student Tenten, she was reasonably good.

Then she looked at Kiba. His Squadwork with Akamaru is impeccable regardless of his weakness in kunai and shuriken throwing. While Kurenai wouldn't send Kiba out to straight fight immediately, he was a good balance in the Squad in the case of a fight.

Finally, Kurenai looked at Naruto. She had a lot to consider when thinking about him. Sure, he knocked out a rouge ninja, but technically, Nine-Tails was in control. But she decided to forget about that, and look at what he had to offer. His Taijutsu wasn't yet to her standards, but he made up for that for knowing the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. For a mere Gennin to know a Jonin level Jutsu was quite impressive. And during a confrontation, he would be essential for both attacking the enemy, and causing a distraction if needed.

Combined with her mastery of high leveled Genjutsu, Kurenai took a deep breath and came to a decision. "If we want to make it to The Land of Waves, we'll have to move quickly." She sighed, looking down the path in front of them. "If there are anymore assassins, we'll have to stay alert. Ino…" The blonde girl looked up with a triumphant smirk. "You'll take point with me. Tazuna will be behind us, with Naruto and Kiba bring up the rear. I want you to activate your Sensory skill every ten minutes. Scan everything around us as far as you can, ensuring there is no one in you range of sight."

"YEAH! KICKASS!" Naruto shouted, in his knucklehead way.

Kurenai knew how much danger they were in if they didn't start moving soon. "Come on…" She ordered, in a more serious voice. "The ocean is at least five hours away if we move now. We should be in The Land of Waves by that time."

**Five Hours Later…**

Five hours has passed since Squad Eight decided to continue on with the mission. To their relief, they didn't run into anymore assassins sent by Gato. They arrived at a small port, and had a boat driver take them across the ocean into The Land of Waves.

Fog rolled in suddenly. So thick that if you were in it, the only things you would see was the people in your boat, and nothing else. Squad Eight and Tazuna took a seat in the back of the boat, when Kurenai broke the silence. "So…why did you need to complete the bridge? And give me details this time." Tazuna looked at the Jonin, and let out a heavy sigh. The three Genins listened intently as Tazuna explained why they were there in the first place.

"In my homeland…there's a man by the name of Gato." Kurenai recognized the name. "Gato is a soulless, cheating, blood-thirsty businessman who took control over The Land of Waves. No one knows where he came from. He just appeared in The Land of Waves one day, with a massive army of mercenaries, thugs, and high leveled missing ninjas." Naruto, Ino, and Kiba swallowed in nervousness at the description of Gato. When all four shinobi nodded for Tazuna to continue, the old man removed his straw hat, and continued. "He now rules The Land of Waves as a dictating tyrant. His mercenaries and thugs run the streets, enforcing his "laws" to the fullest extent. Gato's men kill out of boredom, and they never get in trouble."

Kurenai and the others looked at one another, and then looked at Tazuna again. "Look…. I'm really sorry I had to trick a Genin Squad to help me." The bridge builder apologized. "The Land of Waves needs me and my men to complete the bridge separating our lands." He bowed his head. "My people need me…If and my men and I complete the bridge, we might be able to get the help we need. We might be able to get jobs in your land, and earn enough money to save The Land of Waves from Gato's tyranny. My land is dying, and I am the only one that can save it…" Then, when Tazuna was about to go on, he pointed behind them. The ninja Squad looked, and saw it. The great bridge Tazuna and his men were working on. The incomplete bridge stretched a little more than half way across the water below.

But as the Squad passed underneath the bridge, they were unaware that they were being watched. Hidden behind the white fog stood a tall, gray skinned man, wearing a pair of gray camouflage pants. On his torso, he wore nothing. His hard, muscular chest was exposed to the cool air. On his back, there was a large sword, standing nearly eight feet long. Around his head he wore a long gray camouflage scarf. His face was shielded by a black shinobi mask, similar to the one Kakashi Hatake. And his black spiky hair was held up by his mist village headband. The mysterious man watched the five, figuring out who they were.

"Hmm…. We have a Yamanaka, huh?" He spoke to himself, in a dark, creepy voice. An evil smirk appeared underneath his mask. "Looks like this won't be as boring as I thought." He turned his attention to the boy and dog in the boat, and recognized those fang marks on his cheek. "And a Inuzuka. The masters of the hound dogs of The Leaf Village." But his smug attitude completely changed when he saw Naruto Uzumaki. The whisker birthmarks and spiky blond hair caused the assassin's eyes to snap open. "Well, well, well…This is a surprise. The infamous Jinchūriki of The Hidden Leaf Village, Naruto Uzumaki." He sat down, allowing his legs to dangle from the edge. Then, he saw their sensei. "And, the beautiful crimson eyed Genjutsu specialist of the leaves, Kurenai Yuuhi."

He stretched his arms and legs, before getting up. "Looks like this might prove to be a challenge…for once." The masked man started to perform hand signs, and finished by disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Back with the Squad, Tazuna was just finishing up by mentioning his daughter and his grandson. He pulled a dirty trick by mentioning how depressed his daughter would be if he died trying to complete the bridge. And how heart broken his grandson would be if his granddad, his only other living relative died. Squad Eight looked down, knowing what the old man was doing, but still imagining what he said. So, the Squad nodded their head, and continued on with the mission.

After about 15 more minutes of rowing, the boat finally arrived at the other side of the lake _(P.S. The Land of Waves is a lake that is connected to the ocean. Just in case anyone was wondering)_. The boat driver accepted Kurenai's money, and wished them the best of luck. Ino activated her Sensory skill, and scanned the immediate area around them. She saw a few rabbits, a couple of foxes and wolfs. Mostly wildlife. "All clear." Ino announced.

The fog around them seemed to be getting thicker as they continued towards The Land of Waves. This concerned Naruto. "Umm, Tazuna?" The bridge builder looked down at the blonde boy. "Is this normal? This amount of fog?" Naruto's teammates looked at him funny, but Tazuna raised a eyebrow at the question. He looked around, and scratched the back of his neck.

"Actually, this is strange." He answered. "I mean, The Land of Waves is known for its foggy days. But, only in the right _seasons_." Kurenai's eyes popped open at the statement. "While we are close to when we get fog here, it's still at least a whole month until it gets bad. Hmm…maybe it is only…"

"STOP." Tazuna was interrupted by Kurenai. Her voice had both a hint of panic and alertness. Her Squad and Tazuna didn't even question her, and stopped dead in their tracks. Her red eyes narrowed as she scanned around them. "No…" Her hands then went into a blur as she started performing hand signs. "Release!" Chakra swirled around her body, and exploded outward. The instant the chakra dispirited into the fog, the fog dissipated. It began to clear up revealing more and more land.

This wasn't regular fog… and Kurenai knew it.

"GET DOWN!" Kurenai cried at the top of her lungs. The Jonin dived forward, tackling her team and Tazuna. And just in time, too. From out of nowhere, a large sword came spinning out of the dissolving fog, heading straight towards the Squad. The sword came so close to striking the ninja Squad, that when Kurenai dived, the massive blade trimmed off a full inch off her hair. As Kurenai and her Squad landed on the ground, the large sword imbedded itself four inches into a nearby tree.

Then, as the Squad rushed to their feet, they heard a large puff of smoke coming from behind them. Kurenai, Ino, Kiba and Naruto all reached for their kunai, and surrounded Tazuna.

Standing atop of the imbedded sword stood a tall, muscular man. His back was turned to the Squad, but the soulless, light brown eyes stayed glued on the five behind them. The wind began to pick up, sending his scarf fluttering in the same direction. "Well…It seems that the famous Genjutsu master of The Leaf Village is getting somewhat rusty." The mystery man chuckled, hopping off the massive sword. "But don't worry…I tend to go eye on a pretty woman now and again." With one hand, the mist ninja yanked his sword out of the tree, and rammed it into the ground next to him.

Kurenai glared at the man. "Zabuza Momochi…you must be one of Gato's lap dogs, huh?" Zabuza Momochi's name was well known in almost every village. Known as the "Demon Hidden in the Mist" his way of killing and mastery of Water Jutsu made him famous. Zabuza laughed, and started to do exercise stretches.

"In a way, Yuuhi…" Kurenai's eyes, along with everyone else's eyes snapped open when they heard Zabuza mention their sensei's last name. "That's right, I know your name. Your reputation as a Genjutsu master perceives you. I may work for him, but I'm no lapdog. The only reason I didn't kill him is because he offered me the right amount of money." He pulled his sword out of the ground, and dropped into his signature fighting stance.

He locked eyes with Kurenai, and sighed. "Today is your lucky day. What I'm going to offer you is a once in a lifetime offer. If you four leave, and give me the old man, I won't kill you or your little Genins. But if you stay…I'll have to kill all of you." Then, there were silence. Small drops of wind fell from the sky, as the wind began to blow stronger. Kurenai narrowed her eyes, and tightened her grip around her kunai. Naruto, Ino and Kiba also stood their ground, with Naruto ready to perform his Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Taking their silence as a refusal, Zabuza sighed. "What a shame…You had a pretty face, too." Then, instantly, Zabuza's body turned into water, and splashed to the ground. But Naruto was prepared. Before Kurenai had a chance to give any orders, Naruto finished the required hand signs.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He cried, as multiple puffs of smoke appeared all around them. When the smoke cleared, there were a grand total of 30 Naruto clones surrounding them, all with a kunai in each hand. Kurenai didn't shout at him…Because that was exactly what she was about to order him to do. Kurenai turned, and looked and Ino. The blonde girl smirked, and started to perform her own hand signs.

"Sensory!" Her sensory skills went to work and scanned all around them, scanning for any source of chakra. After a few seconds, she spotted Zabuza, standing on the water in a nearby lake. He was performing hand signs, when two more water clones of him morphed out of the water. "Kurenai-sensei! Zabuza just created two water clones!"

'Thank God we have a Sensory Type.' Kurenai thought. "OK, Ino. Keep an eye on him." She then looked at Kiba. "Kiba, I want you and 15 of Naruto's clones to take Tazuna somewhere safe, but somewhere within hearing distance. If you see or sense someone else coming, yell." Kiba nodded his head. He took Tazuna's hand, and led him and the 15 clones off into the forest.

"Here they come, sensei." Ino warned, ready to fling her kunai at the charging clones. Zabuza and his two clones charged forward, with their swords held high.

_"Something's up…This isn't his fighting style…"_ Kurenai thought, putting her kunai back into her holster. Chakra started to swirl around Kurenai's hands, as she stared to perform hand signs. "Fire Style: Dragon's Fury!" a second later, dark red fire erupted from the Jonin's mouth, and hurled straight at the charging three. The fire struck the two water clones, but the real Zabuza used his massive sword as a shield, protecting himself from the scorching inferno. When the attack subsided, the assassin swung around his sword, and send a barrage of shuriken and kunai at the leaf shinobi. Naruto, Ino and Kurenai leapt out of the way, dodging all of the thrown projectiles. But six of the 15 clones weren't so lucky.

Zabuza smirked, pulled his sword out of the ground, and charged the ninjas again. _"Hmm…The blond brat knows Shadow Clone, huh? Impressive."_ Zabuza, using more impressive speed, dashed forward. All nine of Naruto's clones charged forward to intercept the missing mist ninja. But Zabuza had more brute strength than you would think. Using his left arm, he swung across him and sent all nine of the clones skidding across the ground, disappearing as the slid. "Impressive trick, kid! But you'll need more than that if you want to slow me down!"

Zabuza appeared behind Naruto and Ino, with his blade resting on their throats. Kurenai's eyes widened in terror at the sight of her students, with the infamous Zabuza Momochi holding them hostage. _"DAMN IT!"_ "Let them go, Momochi!" Kurenai demanded. "They're just children!"

A cold, careless chuckle escaped Zabuza's bandaged mouth. "_Children_ wouldn't have agreed to go on an A-ranked mission. _Children _wouldn't stand up to an enemy, if they didn't want to. They're no less ninjas than you or me, Yuuhi." He pressed his razor sharp blade closer to their throats, causing them to gasp. "Now, call that old dinosaur out here so I can kill him. And if I feel merciful, I MIGHT let you and your pups live. But if you so much as…."

He didn't even finish his sentence, when the two ninjas he had in his possession suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke. _"WHAT THE?"_ Both Zabuza and Kurenai thought, wide eyed at what they just witnessed.

**POW!**

Immediately afterwards, Ino and Naruto appeared behind Zabuza, and both delivered a couple of good hits in. Naruto performed a round house kick to Zabuza's face, and sent him stumbling backwards. Then, before he could regain his balance, Ino ran up and punched him in the stomach. "DANM BRATS!" Zabuza yelled, throwing his swords directly at Naruto and Ino. But they managed to jump out of the way, and avoided getting harmed.

Seeing her chance, Kurenai performed another set of hand signs. "Weapon Jutsu: Shuriken Storm!" Smoke erupted all around Kurenai, which also shielded her students from being seen. And suddenly, before the smoke even cleared, shuriken after shuriken shot out. Zabuza managed to shield himself from most of the weapons, but a couple found their way into his leg and shoulder.

He hissed in pain, and looked to the nearby lake. Still being protected by his sword, he turned and performed another set of hand signs. "WATER STYLE: WATER DRAGON!" From out of the lake, a large water serpent shot from the water, and moved in front of Zabuza. The rest of the shuriken penetrated half way into it, before coming to a halt. Zabuza yanked the shuriken from out his shoulder and led, and let out another hiss of pain. _"Damn it. Guess this is what I get for being reckless."_ "Get ready, leaf ninja!" The dragon turned to the three ninjas, and let out a frightening roar. Then he shot towards them, ready to devour all of them.

Thinking quickly, Kurenai started performing hand signs. "Get behind me, you two!" Once Ino and Naruto got behind her, Kurenai finished her required hand signs. "Earth Style: Earth Wall!" Suddenly, a giant slab of rock busted out of the ground. It was ten feet long, ten feet high, and eight feet thick. But it wasn't enough. When the water dragon smacked against the stone wall, it broke through. The amount of force sent Naruto, Ino, and Kurenai flying backwards, smacking against some trees.

"AARGH!" Kurenai cried, reaching for her leg. Her leg took a lot of damage both from the water dragon attack, and from hitting a tree. A small part of her femur was sticking out of her leg, and blood was steadily streaming out. And to make matters worse, she was losing consciousness, due to the amount of chakra she was using. She looked over to Naruto and Ino, who were spitting out water. "Naruto… Ino…. Get back to Kiba and Tazuna." Kurenai said, trying to keep her eyes open.

"No way, sensei." Ino disagreed. "You saved our asses, no we'll save yours."

"I don't think so…." The voice belonged to Zabuza. When they looked up, the three was horrified to see Zabuza, and two more clones. The tips of their massive blades rested against their throats. "That was a very cute trick you two pulled. I'll give you that." The man snarled, narrowing his eyes at the three. "But unfortunately, those were the LAST TRICKS YOU'LL EVE…."

"Four Legs Technique!" All of a sudden, a punch swung towards the three assassins. They couldn't react in time, and were all caught in Kiba's attack. Zabuza stumbled back and panted really hard.

"Great timing, Kiba!" Naruto said, as he and Ino helped the barely conscious Kurenai to her feet. Tazuna ran up, once it was clear that Zabuza wasn't going anywhere. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the worn out Zabuza. "Let's hit him harder for what he did to Kurenai-sensei."

"Yes ma'am." Kiba chuckled. But before they could even get a chance to finish him, two Throwing Needles came flying in from the forest. They found their mark, and both sank into Zabuza's neck. Zabuza let out a dying gasp, before falling to the ground. A puff of smoke appeared on a nearby tree.

When the smoke cleared, it revealed a slender boy. He wore a dark green kimono, with a long green scarf wrapped round his neck. Underneath the kimono, he wore a pair of green baggy shorts, and a pair of wooden sandals. His face was shielded from everyone by a white mask, with the symbol of the hidden mist village engraved on it.

"Who are you?" Kurenai demanded, as Ino, Naruto and Kiba dashed around Tazuna.

"My name is Haku…"

* * *

**_To Be Continued…_**

**_Author's Note: This is how I identify Haku: Mask on: Boy, Mask off: Girl. I hope that you enjoyed it._**

**_~Stay True~_**

**_Next Time: A boy named Haku appears and thanks Squad Eight for putting up a great fight and takes Zabuza's body away. Squad Eight then walks through the city of the Land of Waves to see a horrible sight._**


	6. Training

**Training**

The team stared in astonishment as the masked shinobi leapt from the tree, landing on the ground next to the impaled Zabuza. Kurenai, still nervous, slowly reached for a kunai.

"I'm sorry if I startled you, but this is my job," The masked boy started, using a soft, soothing voice. "My name is Haku, and I'm a Tracker Ninja. My team and I have tracked Zabuza for some time now, and I just so happened to be in the forest, when I heard you and your team fighting someone." Feeling more at ease, Kurenai turned to her team and nodded her head, silently telling them to lower their guard.

And when the three Genin lowered their weapons, Haku continued. "I have waited in the trees, watching you combat Zabuza Momochi. If I came in to interfere, I fear I would've lost yet another chance to kill him. But it seems your team of Genin is more skilled then the average Genin team should be." Ino, Kiba and Naruto smiled, and nodded their heads at the kind compliment. Haku then turned to Kurenai. "I'd like to thank you for assisting in the kill of the rogue ninja Zabuza Momochi. And I would really appreciate knowing your names, so I can pass it on to my superior."

The team nodded and gave the masked mist shinobi their names. Haku wrote them down, before bowing his head respectfully. "Thanks again, Kurenai, Naruto, Kiba, Ino," he thanked, as he lifted the dead body onto his shoulder. "Zabuza Momochi was too dangerous to be kept alive. And the families damaged by him will know justice has been dealt. On behalf of my village, I thank you." And with that, Haku and Zabuza's body disappeared in a puff of smoke.

When Haku and Zabuza were gone, the team was left in awkward silence. Naruto scratched the back of his head, and chuckled. "Hehheheheee… So, how much further till we get to The Land of Waves?"

**Meanwhile…**

Somewhere, deep in the dark forest, Haku and Zabuza reappeared. The masked boy threw the larger man's body to the ground, looked around, and let out a tired sigh. "You're getting too reckless, Zabuza. The first thing you taught me was not to let your guard down under any circumstances." Haku knelt, and pulled out the two needles in his master's neck. "Wake up, Zabuza."

Zabuza's eyes shot open, and he growled at Haku. "Dammit Haku, don't you know how much that hurts?" he asked angrily.

"My apologies, Zabuza, but it was my duty to keep them from killing you. Besides, I've learned quite a bit by watching them." Haku said in his deceivingly feminine voice.

Zabuza grinned. "Good. Now carry me back to the base. My body won't move yet," he ordered, half amused, half pissed off.

**Back with the others…**

The team, after 20 more minutes of walking, had just entered the port town of The Land of Waves, and were appalled at what they saw. The city Tazuna lived in was filled with poor people, trash, and random thugs, brandishing katana swords on their waists. There were people huddling around fires that were burning in garbage cans. There were merchants selling little and indecent produce, at deadly high prices. Kids were running through the streets, wearing rags and barefoot. Kurenai, Ino, Kiba, and Naruto were stunned.

"This is terrible…" Kurenai whispered, in a deadly silent whisper. "You mean to tell me that this is how Gato runs this country?" The bridge builder looked at her with sorrow filled eyes, and nodded.

"Yes…" Tazuna answered, taking off his straw hat and wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "Gato rules with dictatorship, and doesn't give a rat's ass about the people of this country. His immense wealth allows him to, and no one ever had the courage to stand up to him, not since…" He stopped, not wanting to bring up that subject. "If you disobeyed the laws of this country, that monster would hold a public execution to make an example." Naruto, Ino and Kiba looked at the old man with shock, as Kurenai merely squeezed her fists in rage.

Ino frowned at the thugs who were staring at them. "This isn't right… Other villages should have come to your aid," she mumbled, sticking her tongue out at the small group of thugs. One scowled, and was about to march toward them, when the one beside him stopped him. That one then whispered something into his ear, saying something that caused the first thug to step back into the group. "The country is ruled by a tyrant. He has worthless thugs and mercenaries terrorizing the people, and is causing them to live in poverty. Somebody should have done something by now."

Tazuna allowed a small smile to appear on his face…but he followed up by shaking his head. "It wouldn't matter. Gato would just find a different way to make the people of this land suffer. The only way this country will ever be freed is when that monster stops breathing." Ino was about to add something, when a small tug came at the hem of her outfit. The blond girl turned around, and saw a small homeless girl. Just like all the other children of The Land of Waves, she wore raggy clothes. There were dirt spots on her face, and her black hair was messy and untamed. The girl extended her hands and opened them, as if she was asking for something. But unlike a large majority of her fellow people, this homeless girl had on a small, innocent smile.

Ino, with a smile on her face, reached into her pocket and pulled out some coins. "Here you go…" she said, dropping the silver coins into the little girl's hands, "I hope it's enough." Then, before she knew it, the little girl leapt forward and gave Ino a tight hug. Then she ran off, turning down an alley.

Seeing this, Tazuna couldn't help but chuckle and Naruto couldn't help but blush at Ino's kindness. "Ya see? I never saw anyone do anything like that here. People are either too poor or too cruel and ignorant to show such kindness." Ino shrugged her shoulders. "We need more people like you… People who would make an effort to help this land, besides me and some of my friends." As the team made their way though the dirt-poor town, they came across a couple of thugs, who were harassing an old woman.

"OK, lady. Cough up this month's pay," one growled, as he leaned forward and held himself up by the woman's house. "We've been real patient with you this entire month, and feel you have had enough time. So if you'd be so kind, please cough up the money." Kurenai and the others stopped in the middle of the street, and witnessed the two heartless men hustle the old lady.

The woman was somewhere around 70-80 years old. She was shaking like a leaf, as she held herself up with her cane. "Please… Business has been bad," she pleaded, her voice low and shaky. But the men in front of her simply rolled their eyes. "I'm sorry, but I need more time."

"Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you this…" one of the thugs sighed, as he and his friend slowly reached for their swords, "But our boss doesn't give second chances. His rule is if someone can't produce enough money, get rid of them and replace them with someone younger and better. And while you were useful to our boss for a while… I fear that your usefulness had run out. So come with us, and you won't get h…"

All of a sudden, a puff of smoke appeared behind them. Before the men could react, something sharp and cold pressed up against their throats. "Sorry gentlemen, but this has gone on long enough…" They suddenly heard a female's voice coming from behind them. And when the smoke finally cleared, Kurenai was revealed, with a kunai pressed against both of the thugs' jugular veins. "Now, either both of you boys turn, and never bother this woman again, or I can take your heads off, right here, right now." Venom was dripping from every word the kunoichi spoke. Shivers of terror went down the thugs' spines, as Kurenai pressed the blades closer to their throats. "So, which one will it be?"

At first, neither of the thugs did anything. They looked at each other nervously, their eyes bulging out and sweat dripping down their faces. And after ten seconds without getting a response, Kurenai pressed the cold sharpened steel even harder against their necks. This got one of them to comply. "OK! OK! We're as good as gone!" he cried, worried for his life. When Kurenai looked at the other one, he nodded, agreeing with his partner.

So with a heavy sigh, Kurenai took the kunai from their necks and stepped back. The two thugs coughed and massaged the part of their neck that almost got sliced. And without giving Kurenai a death threat or glaring at her, the two men ran off frantically, causing the villagers to look at the team with suspicion. They've seen shop owners and villagers running for their lives before, but never had they seen Gato's men running for anything. Kurenai scoffed, put her two kunai in her pouch, and turned to speak with the old woman. But to her surprise, she wasn't there. Right before Gato's men ran off, the elderly woman retreated back into her home/store.

"She's grateful for what you've done," Tazuna reassured, placing a hand on Kurenai's shoulder. "But people here do their best not to stand out. Because anyone who's seen conversing with someone who defies Gato's laws is seen as just as guilty as those who defy him." Tazuna's statement was proven right when all the nearby villagers retreated into their homes as well.

When Kurenai saw all the villagers go into their houses, Tazuna looked down and sighed. "Come on…we should get to my house before word spreads about you guys," he said, leading the ninja team in the direction of his house.

**At Tazuna's house…**

It was another hour of walking after the run in with the thugs, and the team finally arrived at Tazuna's house. It was a simple two story house, right on the water. They entered, and were greeted by a woman with long dark blue hair, wearing a pink shirt, and a blue skirt. "Dad! You're home!" she cried happily, as she caught her father in a crushing hug. "I'm so glad you made it back safe and sound. Did anything happen on the way?" Tazuna looked at his daughter, Tsunami, and smiled.

"Besides a few… unsuspected instances… everything went just fine." The woman looked at her father with a stern look, and put her hands on her hips.

"What does that mean?"

The woman turned to Kurenai. "We ran into a few things that slowed us down, but we dealt with them in a quick and efficient way," Kurenai answered, bowing respectively to the older woman. Naruto smiled devilishly, and jumped in.

"YEAH!" he cried loudly, causing Tsunami to jump back in surprise. "We took on a wimpy-ass ninja and some famous rogue ninja named Zabuza Momochi…and won!" Kurenai and Tsunami smiled at Naruto's knucklehead attitude. She'd only known these people for about three minutes, and already she could tell that Naruto was a kind person.

"It doesn't matter how strong you are. Gato will find a way to get to my grandpa, and nothing is gonna' stop him." Everybody turned to see a young boy, standing on the stairway. He wore a plain white shirt, green overalls, and a white hat with two blue stripes on it, and had short black hair. And he had an emotionless expression on his face.

"Inari, behave yourself!" Tazuna demanded, with the boy's expression not changing a bit. "These ninja just saved me from being killed by highly trained ninjas on two different occasions! So show them some respect." But the boy simply turned around and went to his room, leaving the team confessed.

"Who was that?" Ino asked.

Tsunami looked sadly at the young kunoichi, and sighed. "Please excuse Inari. He's been through a lot because of Gato," she began, with a sad look in her eyes. "A couple of years ago… he lost someone very close to him because of Gato. You see, a few years ago, Inari was playing near the lake, when some other kids came along and pushed him off a dock and into the water. He couldn't swim, and he needed help. Then he came and saved him… A man named Kaiza." The team took a seat in some nearby chairs, and listened to the interesting story.

"He jumped in and saved him. And as time passed, Inari began to see him as a father figure. Inari loved him very much, and he cared for him as an actual father. Kaiza was considered a true hero here. He helped save lives and all that good stuff. He made everybody feel happy and gave them confidence." Tsunami took a second and smiled at the remembrance of Kaiza. But her smile disappeared in a flash.

"But then, Gato came. He was determined to rule The Land of Waves, and used his power to force the people to obey his laws. But Kaiza was the one person that wouldn't obey or surrender. So, Gato had his thugs go get him and take him to the courtyard. And then… they held a public execution, showing what would happen to those who would think about going against his orders. Inari was in the crowd, and saw the death of his father. He hasn't been the same since. He started acting out, and then gave up hope on ever being free from Gato."

Everyone stood in awkward silence. They didn't know what to say by this point. This was a lot to hear in one day, not to mention what they had just witnessed firsthand. Kurenai sighed and looked out the window, as it began to rain. _"This isn't right,"_ she thought, as she began to pace. _"This man Gato should have been killed a long time ago. And if he's trying to get rid of the Tazuna, then my team and I have more work to do. But this is getting too dangerous for them."_

**Sometime later…**

A woman with long raven hair and pick Japanese clothing walked through the forest picking herbs. She then notices an unconscious figure and walks over towards it. The figure was Naruto who was asleep due to overworking last night. She quickly recognized him since she was the Tracker Ninja with the mask.

**(Flashback)**

The team nodded and gave the masked mist shinobi their names. Haku wrote them down, before bowing his head respectfully. "Thanks again, Kurenai, Naruto, Kiba, Ino," he thanked, as he lifted the dead body onto his shoulder. "Zabuza Momochi was too dangerous to be kept alive. And the families damaged by him will know justice has been dealt. On behalf of my village, I thank you." And with that, Haku and Zabuza's body disappeared in a puff of smoke.

** (End Flashback)**

Haku crouched down near Naruto's body and extended her hand. Though it looked like she was going to kill him, she actually nudged Naruto trying to wake him up.

"Hey, little boy. You're going to get a cold sleeping like this. Wake up."

Naruto's eyes slowly opened and he blushed when he saw Haku.

"Who are you?"

"Let's just say that I'm a fair maiden; I'm going through these woods to pick herbs."

She gave Naruto a friendly smile making him blush.

"So what's your name and what are you doing out here young boy?"

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm out here training to become strong!" he said proudly

"So you a Leaf Ninja because I notice your headband there."

"Oh you did? Yes I'm a Leaf ninja, and someday I'll become the greatest Hokage then everyone will look up to me and to show a certain someone that I'm stronger."

"A Hokage…and you are doing this for this certain someone or for yourself?"

Naruto was confused at Haku's question.

"F…For someone?" Naruto blushes thinking that Haku is talking about Ino.

"Yes. When you strive to protect someone you care about, it can make you even more powerful than you are now. I'm sure you'll become a great Hokage one day." Haku smiled as she picked up her basket and leaves. "Goodbye, I'm sure that we'll meet again one day. Oh and by the way…I'm a boy."

Naruto was very surprised at this. _"What?! He's prettier than Ino!"_ Naruto thought.

**Later, deep in the forest somewhere…**

Deep in the forest, there was a large hideout hidden in a large tree. It was basically an oversized tree house, but made of steel and iron. It was the same size as a house, but the leaves concealed it. Inside, Zabuza Momochi lay in a large bed, with bandages covering his injured body parts. Beside him, Haku stood, with an herbal drink to boost Zabuza's strength. Then, a knock came at the large oak doors. "What is it?" Zabuza growled.

The doors flew open, and in walked a short man, with messy, spiky brown hair, glassed and a black business suit. Behind him followed two thugs, armed with Katana swords. "Well, well… I had to see it to believe it," the short man began, sounding disappointed. "Zabuza Momochi, the most feared shinobi in the Hidden Mist Village, bested by a woman and three snot-nosed kids. I never thought I would see the day."

Then from out of nowhere, a shuriken flew in and struck the wall, right beside Gato's head. Haku was the one who threw it. "Watch your tongue, _Gato_, before I chop it off." While Gato's men stood in front of him, with their swords drawn, Zabuza chuckled and raised a hand.

"That's enough, Haku. I can handle this," he said, causing the boy to step back. When it was clear a fight wasn't going to happen, Gato ordered his men to step back. "I admit. I underestimated that Genin team. They were more skilled than I anticipated." Gato raised an eyebrow, as he witnessed Zabuza's smile through his bandaged face. "But that won't happen again."

"And the old bridge builder?" Gato asked. "I am paying you a handsome fee to dispose him for me. And I expect to see results…tonight!" But while he was ordering the dangerous man around like some lowly servant, Zabuza noticed that Gato was shaking. This caused Zabuza to laugh.

"You are a funny little man, Gato," he chuckled as he stood up. Everyone heard pops and cracks, but Zabuza acted like he was perfectly healthy. "You order me, Zabuza Momochi, around like a dog, but you are wise enough to not forget to fear Haku and me…You are a lucky man. Lucky that I pride myself on my work more than what you think of me." Then, after removing all the bandages and flexing his muscles, the rogue ninja reached and grabbed his massive sword.

"Zabuza," Haku began, walking up beside Zabuza, "Are you sure you're ready? You still need to recover more." The large man snickered, and threw his sword over his shoulder.

"Thanks Haku, but I'm okay. Now that we know what we're dealing with, we can handle them…" After finishing his herbal drink, he made his way to the large oak door with Haku by his side. "We have an old man to kill."

**Back with Squad Eight**

The team spent a whole hour sparring with one another. They switched up every once in a while. Naruto against Ino for around 10 minutes, then they'd switch with someone else, like have Ino go up against Kiba and Naruto go up against Kurenai, and so on. And even though all the students were panting heavily and sweating, Kurenai was pleased. While they didn't know it, they were slowly getting faster, and their reflexes were improving for fights.

Smirking proudly, Kurenai stood in front of her winded team with her hands on her hips. "You three are improving," she began, getting all three to look up at her. "Naruto's reaction time is improving, along with his hand-to-hand combat skills. Ino is also getting better. And Kiba's endurance has almost doubled since we started sparring."

The three Genin smiled happily, even while they sweated and gasped for each breath. "I have one last thing I want to run past you three, though," she continued, as she reached into her back pouch. Then, she pulled out four sheets of white paper. She held them up, so the three could see. "This is called Chakra Paper."

"W-what's Catra Paper, Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto asked, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"It's Chakra Naruto." Ino corrected.

"Here," Kurenai continued, grabbing a sheet of paper, "I'll demonstrate." Kurenai simply held the paper in her hand, as if she were giving it to somebody, so it was flat, horizontally. And, after applying some chakra, the piece of paper started to smoke, before lighting on fire. "My element is fire," Kurenai said, as the fiery sheet of paper fell to the ground, where Kurenai stomped it out. "So, that means my specialty, besides Genjutsu, is fire-style ninjutsu."

"Wow! That was awesome," Naruto shouted, pumping his fist into the air.

"Let me try!" Ino shouted

Smiling, Kurenai handed the paper to Ino. "Only a small amount of chakra," Kurenai reminded. "It doesn't take much to activate the Chakra Paper."

"I know, I know," the girl said impatiently, even though she didn't know that before. With the paper in hand, Ino took a few breaths, before applying a small amount of chakra to the paper. At first, nothing happened. But then, Inostarted to feel her hand getting cold and wet. She opened her eyes to see that her piece of paper was now completely soaked with water.

"It seems your chakra element is water," Kurenai said, as Ino dropped the wet piece of paper on the ground and dried her hand off on her pants.

"So your chakra is best when it is applied to water-style ninjutsu." Kurenai then handed another piece of paper to Kiba. When he applied chakra, the paper became stiff. He looked at it and saw something that resembled dirt was covering his sheet of paper. "And yours is earth."

Finally, Kurenai handed the last sheet of paper to Naruto. After taking a few deep breaths, Naruto closed his eyes, and applied chakra to the paper. All of a sudden, there was a loud whistling sound. Naruto's eyes snapped open to see that his sheet of paper wasn't in his hand anymore. He looked around, to see everyone was looking up. So he did, too. Floating down from above, was his paper, now split it two.

"What does that mean, Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto said as the two pieces of paper fell to the ground.

With a smile, Kurenai looked down at Naruto. "That, Naruto, means that your chakra element is wind. Though, you applied a little too much chakra to the paper," she added. So, she continued. "You all can take a break now. Take five minutes, catch your breath, get a drink, and come into the house with me."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Naruto, Ino, and Kiba sat down by separate trees. They were all sweating still, but at least they could relax now. "Damn, that was exhausting," Ino groaned. "Can you pass me your canteen, Naruto? I'm parched."

"Sure, Ino," Naruto said, reaching into his pouch. He pulled out his canteen filled with water and tossed it to Ino. "Do you mind tossing me some of your ration bar, Kiba?"

"Sure thing, buddy," Kiba said, snapping his ration bar in half, and chucking it to Naruto.

"Thanks."

"No problem." As Naruto took a bite from his bar, he heard a faint splashing sound. He turned his attention back to Ino. She had splashed her face with a little of Naruto's water. She was doing this to cool herself off. Then, she wiped the water from her face up into her hair. Now her hair was damp. Humming a song to herself, she pulled out a little brush, and started brushing her hair. She opened her eyes. Naruto, Kiba, and Kurenai were all looking at her.

"What?" she asked, as she continued to brush her hair. "Can't a girl look pretty when on a mission? Or is that not allowed?" Kurenai rolled her eyes and Kiba chuckled, before going back to eating his ration bar. Naruto, however, was blushing. But when Ino looked at him, Naruto quickly looked away.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!"

"What the?" Kurenai hissed, as she and her students leapt to their feet and rushed upstairs. When they got to Inari's room, they saw two thugs, who had obviously climbed in through the window, holding Inari and his mother, with knife blades pressed against their throats. Kurenai, reaching for a kunai, glared at the two men. "Release them, NOW."

One of the thugs snickered evilly. "You are in no position to be ordering us around, bitch. Gato ordered us to keep you four busy. And that is precisely what we intend to do." Realizing what he meant, Kurenai turned to the others. "Oh no you don't!" the man snarled, "If you or any of your students leave to help that old man, the lady and the brat die!"

_"Damnit!"_ Kurenai shouted in her head. _"This is bad! Tazuna is in danger! And now Tsunami and Inari are in danger, too! What else can go wrong?"_

**Back at the bridge…**

Tazuna and his workers were completing the bridge. "Okay boys," Tazuna shouted, as he and his friends started finishing up on the bridge. "We're almost done! We only have three feet to go before we're officially done with this damn thing!" Tazuna's friends cheered happily when Tazuna made that announcement. Then Tazuna looked at off into the distance, and noticed a large mass of fog was rolling its way towards them. This confused the old bridge builder. He noticed that it was also raining. "What the hell?"

"Hey Tazuna!" The old man turned to see one of the workers. "Have you seen any of the other guys? They should have been here by now." Tazuna looked around, and shook his head.

"Guys! We have to get out of here!" Tazuna turned to see a villager running at them, frantic. "The Demon of the Mist is coming this way! Zabuza Momochi is coming!" Tazuna dropped his hammer when he heard this. As all the other workers fled the bridge, thick fog rolled in, covering everything. Tazuna stood there, petrified, when from out of the thick fog walked in Zabuza Momochi, with his sword on his shoulder.

"Hello, old man," Zabuza growled, "I'm back."

"N-no…You're dead. I saw you die," Tazuna stuttered as he slowly stepped backwards in horror. The masked man chuckled as he slowly walked towards him. But then, a barrage of shuriken and kunai flew in and headed straight for Zabuza. He quickly pulled out his sword and used it as a shield. All of the shuriken and kunai either flew past him or bounced off the sword. He looked and saw Squad Eight, running up behind Tazuna.

"Hehehe," Zabuza chuckled, stepping out from behind his sword. "You were almost too late, weren't you?" Kurenai frowned and shook her head.

**(Flashback)**

"Stop crying and shut up!" one of the thugs shouted at Tsunami. She had just got done pleading for them to release Inari and to keep her instead. But it didn't work. "You two aren't going anywhere!"

"Let me mom go, you jerks!" Inari shouted as he slammed the back of his head into the face of the man that was holding him. Said thug let out a shout of pain before unknowingly releasing his hold on Inari. The other man, watching his partner get head butted by Inari, lost concentration on Kurenai and her team.

"NOW!" Kurenai thought, as she pulled out two shuriken and hurled them at the two distracted men. She was able to rush forward and punched the two thugs knocking them uncouncious. Inari and Tsunami were safe as Kurenai tied the thugs up.

"QUICK!" Kurenai shouted. "We have to get back to the bridge! Tazuna is in danger!"

**END FLASHBACK**

"I guess I should have expected this," Zabuza sighed, as Squad Eight stood in between him and Tazuna. "Those pathetic thugs Gato sent to kill the woman and child weren't much in the first place. Just a couple imbeciles with knives." He then took another look at the team of Leaf Shinobi. Kurenai had a kunai in both hands, with explosive tags attached to them. Naruto had summoned a couple of shadow clones, also carrying kunai. Ino was in a fighting stance ready for anything. And Kiba and Akamaru stood right beside Tazuna prepared for the fight.

"I'm not surprised you're still alive, Zabuza," Kurenai hissed. "I remember that Tracker Ninja dragged you off after throwing those needles into your neck. It was convincing, at first. But it was when he picked you up and left when I knew something was up." Zabuza folded his arms across his chest, wanting Kurenai to explain more. "Tracker Ninja never bring the bodies of rogue ninja with them. They always cut the head off for proof, then dispose of them on the spot, usually with fire ninjutsu. But I assume that since you're still alive, that could only mean that Haku is with you, and isn't a real Tracker Ninja."

Kurenai narrowed her eyes at Zabuza when he started cackling to himself. "You're smarted than I gave you credit for, Yuuhi," the Rogue ninja replied, throwing his sword back on his shoulder. "You're right. Haku is with me." He paused, sighed, and turned his head. "Come on out, Haku," he shouted. "No point in hiding if they already know you're here!" At first, nothing. Kurenai and the others tensed up and looked around frantically. They knew Haku was there, but they didn't know where he was. The entire bridge was surrounded by thick fog. And since the fog was pumped full of chakra, Ino's Sensory couldn't look through it.

But she didn't have to. A few seconds after Zabuza called his name, Haku slowly emerged from the fog and stepped beside his master. And with a sinister smirk showing through his bandaged face, Zabuza continued on. "I have to admit, if Haku wasn't there to bail me out of that little fix I was in, I would've been done for," he admitted, as he started cracking his neck. "For a team of Genin, they have a surprising amount of potential." Then, with all compliments aside, a dark glare appeared on Zabuza's brow. "But because you refused to hand the old man over when you had the chance, none of you will live long enough to show it to anyone else."

When Zabuza took his humongous sword from off his shoulders, Kurenai turned to Kiba. "Kiba, I need you and Akamaru to stay with Tazuna in case anything goes wrong." Hearing that they were not to be a part of the fight, a grumpy frown took over Kiba and Akamaru's faces. "I know you want to help your friends," Kurenai continued, patting them on the shoulders, "but we can't leave Tazuna alone. Who knows? There might be a band of thugs waiting to kill him while we battle Zabuza and Haku. We need someone to take care of him. So I don't want to hear any complaining from you." Feeling that their sensei made a good argument, both of them nodded their heads.

Kurenai turned to Naruto and Ino after she gave Kiba his orders. "You two are to go up against Haku. Zabuza would be too much for you two to handle, so I'll handle him on my own." Ino and Naruto looked at each other, before looking back at their sensei with worried expressions. "Don't worry. If anything, make sure that you stay on the defensive, so that you can familiarize yourselves with his fighting tactics. After that, you two can work together and take him down. Understand?" Naruto nodded his head, as did Ino.

After that being settled, Kurenai turned back to Zabuza and Haku, who were still standing patiently on the other side of the bridge. Zabuza was flexing his muscles, as if he was not concerned with the battle that was in the making. Haku just stood silently next to him, with his mask hiding any expression he might have. "Remember, Kiba," Kurenai whispered, getting ready to spring the attack, "whatever happens, just make sure Tazuna is safe." When Kiba nodded his head again, Kurenai, Ino and Naruto leapt towards the two assassins, prepared to fight.

**_To Be Continued…_**

**_Author's Note: There's the sixth chapter. I'll relax a bit after this chapter so please be patient._**

**_~Stay True~_**

**_Next Time: Naruto and Ino get stuck inside Haku's special Jutsu while Kurenai is powerless to help them. The two battles hard but when Ino is struck down, the blood raged inside Naruto began to surface as the battle to save the Land of Waves begins. _**


End file.
